1. Field of The Invention
The invention relates to the field of assembly supports for use on board a ship, and in particular, to a planar assembly support adaptable to mounting a table, chair and apparatus, or instrument working table, for example, to leave behind only a planar shape assembly bed after dismantling.
2. Background Information
At present, assembly supports for tables, chairs and the like, for use on board a ship, which are available on the market are usually composed of a pillar for supporting the chair and a bed or a base for fixing the pillar, where the pillar is a hollow tube. In order to position the pillar with stability on the bed, the bed must have an insertion hole of sufficient height. Thus, the bed is usually made into a thin-shell member with rather high accurate protrusion, or with a portion stretching downward buried under the floor.
After being mounted on a deck or in a cabin, when because of sight or for a temporary change for another use, the chair and pillar are removed, the bed is left behind because it is difficult to dismantle. The bed, in addition to protruding a certain height above the assembly surface, requires in some cases to be provided with mounting holes on the assembly surface, and thus will not only affect activities of people on the deck or in a cabin, but also possibly cause people to be tripped due to carelessness. If a part of the bed is buried under the floor, then holes are required to be drilled on deck and cabin floor surfaces, which is not only time-consuming and strenuous, but may also damage the structural integrity and appearance of the deck or cabin floor.
Therefore, a need exists for an assembly support for a table, chair and the like, for use on board a ship, which overcomes the problems of the known supports.
It is, therefore, a principal object of the invention to provide a planar assembly support apparatus for supporting a table, chair and the like on board a ship.
It is another object of the invention to provide a planar assembly support apparatus that solves the above mentioned problems of the known supports.
An object of the present invention is to provide a planar assembly support, which is convenient to mount and dismantle, and which leaves behind only planar bed on the mounting surface after dismantling.
These and other objects of the present invention are accomplished by embodiments of a planar assembly support apparatus disclosed herein.
According to an aspect of an exemplary embodiment of the invention, a planar assembly support comprises a pillar, and a bed fixable on a mounting surface, wherein a center hole of said bed is provided with inner screw thread.
According to another aspect of the invention, an inner locking member is provided having, on an outer peripheral face of a lower portion of the inner locking member body, a protruded retaining ring. Further, an outer screw thread is provided on the outer peripheral face of a bottom portion of the inner locking member. The inner locking member can thereby be fixedly locked on the bed through a threaded connecting of the outer screw thread of the bottom portion with the inner screw thread of the center hole of the bed.
According to another aspect of an exemplary embodiment of the invention, the inner and outer screw threads on said bed and inner locking member, respectively, are each two sections of a convex spiral, which are mutually opposite symmetric about a plane made by passing through centerline thereof.
According to another aspect of the invention, a convex spiral length of the inner locking member outer screw thread is equal to or less than the convex spiral length of the inner screw thread of the center hole of the bed.
According to another aspect of the invention, a lower surface of the convex spiral inner screw thread of the center hole of the bed has a downward incline of a certain angle from forward to backward in a clockwise direction, and the upper surface of the inner locking member convex spiral outer screw thread has an upward incline of a certain angle from forward to backward in a clockwise direction. When in a meshed state, the bed convex spiral thread and the inner locking member convex spiral thread are mutually opposite lower and upper surfaces with the same inclination angle.
Thus, according to an exemplary embodiment of the invention, the inner locking member is provided between the pillar and the bed. The bottom of the inner locking member is provided with an outer screw thread in the form of convex spiral, and on the bed is provided inner screw thread in the form of convex spiral able to make a threaded connection with the inner locking member. Therefore, it is possible to make the bed into a substantially planar shape. The pillar and inner locking member can be dismantled together from the bed. Then the bed can be left behind on the mounting surface.
Advantageously, according to the exemplary embodiment of the invention, the bed not only occupies a smaller space than in the known support assemblies, but can also reduce the likelihood that people on the mounting surface will be tripped during normal activities, for example, on the deck or in a cabin.
Further the present invention has advantages of convenient mounting and dismantling, and no damage to mounting surface, etc.
According to another exemplary embodiment of the invention, a planar assembly support includes a pillar assembly and a bed. The pillar assembly includes a pillar comprised of a length of tube, for mounting a table, chair or the like on an upper end thereof. An inner locking member for insertion into a lower end of the pillar is also provided.
According to an aspect of the invention, the inner locking member has an outwardly protruding retaining ring at a lower portion thereof, so that when the inner locking member is inserted into the pillar by placing the lower portion of the pillar over the inner locking member, the lower end of the pillar rests on the outwardly protruding retaining ring.
According to an aspect of the invention, the inner locking member also has an outer screw thread disposed on the lower portion of the inner locking member below the outwardly protruding retaining ring.
According to an aspect of the invention, the inner locking member is fixedly assembled to the pillar so that the pillar and the inner locking member do not move relative to each other.
According to an aspect of the invention, the pillar assembly also includes an outer locking member having a collar portion which receives the pillar therein, with the inner locking member inserted in the pillar.
According to an aspect of the invention, the outer locking member includes an inwardly protruding retaining ring and an outwardly extending flange, at a lower portion thereof. When the pillar with the inner locking member inserted therein is received by the outer locking member, the inwardly protruding retaining ring of the outer locking member extends inwardly some distance beyond the inner locking member retaining ring.
According to an aspect of the invention, the outer locking member is fixedly assembled to the pillar, with inner locking member inserted in the pillar, so that the respective parts do not move relative to each other.
According to an aspect of the invention, an essentially planar bed, which is fixable on a mounting surface, is provided for removably receiving the pillar assembly.
According to an aspect of the invention, the bed has a center hole provided with an inner screw thread which mates with the outer screw thread of the inner locking member of the pillar assembly. In this way, the pillar assembly is removably attached to the bed by inserting the lower end into the bed and turning the pillar assembly in a screwing-on direction.
According to another aspect of this exemplary embodiment of the invention, a mechanism is provided for preventing the pillar assembly, when attached to the bed, from being inadvertently rotated in a screwing-off direction with respect to the bed.
According to an aspect of the invention, the mechanism includes a plurality of indentations provided in the bottom of the outwardly extending flange of the outer locking member of the pillar assembly, and a release member disposed in the bed, and having at least one protrusion disposed thereon.
According to an aspect of the invention, the at least one protrusion configured to extend upward from inside the bed, through an opening in the bed beneath the outer locking member flange, and mate with the plurality of indentations in the bottom of the outer locking member flange.
According to another aspect of the invention, the release member can be operated by a user to selectively disengage the at least one protrusion from the indentations, thereby allowing the pillar assembly to be rotated in the screwing-off direction with respect to the bed.
According to another aspect of the invention, the pillar to comprises a metallic tube.
According to another aspect of the invention, the release member comprises a flexible plastic member which is fixed to the bed at an end of the release member opposite the at least one protrusion.
According to another aspect of the invention, the release member has a button portion, disposed between the end which is fixed to the bed and the at least one protrusion, the button portion extending upwards and through an additional hole in the bed, by which the release member can be operated by a user to selectively disengage the at least one protrusion from the indentations by pressing the button portion.
According to another aspect of the invention, the at least one protrusion comprises a plurality of protrusions.
According to another aspect of the invention, the at least one protrusion is formed in the shape of a triangular ramp having a gradual slope upward to a point at which there is a sharp vertical drop downwards. The plurality of indentations are likewise formed in the shape of a series of triangular ramps which mate with the at least one protrusion. In this way, the at least one protrusion slides against the indentations only in the direction of screwing-on of the pillar assembly to the bed, when the at least one protrusion is engaged with the indentations.